Transcript

Does the stigma of depression still exist for college-aged students?

DR. SUSAN NOLEN-HOEKSEMA: The stigma? The stigma is better today. And it's in part because people-- There are lots of support groups for students who have mental health problems. And they're very active on-campus. Also I think with the-- just generally increased knowledge about the causes of mental health problems like depression, students are more willing to treat it like they would any medical disorder and seek treatment for it. But still, it's-- they consider it a weakness and they don't want other people to know.

Often they won't seek treatment through the university health services because they don't want to be seen walking into that clinic. So when I provide referrals for students to clinicians, they often say, "I want somebody off-campus. I don't want to be seen on-campus going into the mental health clinic." So there still is quite a bit of stigma.